Posted by Jan Wencel on Wed, Dec 30, 2009
Resolving to new habits before the start of a year is a ritual for most, and repeating a resolution year after year is the way of life for many.
So how do you go from pledging you're going to do something to actually doing it? And how do you maintain the change over time?
Robert Fritz's book, The Path of Least Resistance, describes how "the structures in some people's lives lead to oscillation...moving forward and then backward, and then forward and then backward again...their attempts to change their life may work at first, and then not work, and then work again and then not work again." He explains, "these people experience change, but it does not last."
 | He calls this the reactive-responsive orientation, an oscillating course characterized by reacting & responding to circumstances & external conditions. |
 | He also presents a radically different life orientation embodying hope for lasting change: the creative orientation, a revolving state of being characterized by each person being the predominant creative power in their life. |
One of the essential differences he describes between the orientations is something we hold true at Life Contained: change is initiated by changing the contents of your brain, not by attempting to change conditions outside yourself without also altering how you think.
Layer on another Fritz pronouncement, "what you choose to change does not depend on what you think is possible," and you've got yourself powerful concepts for durable change.
Make a decision today to change how you think about being focused in the workplace, and then start changing how you work. Resolve to revolve.
Happy New Year!
Posted by Jan Wencel on Wed, Dec 23, 2009
Life Contained founder,
Jan Wencel, authored a chapter for
Insights on Productivity--a productivity book published by the
Network for Productivity Excellence.
The productivity article is about employing techniques to de-velocitize your life and work toward operating at a productive, fulfilling and life-nurturing pace. The productivity book is filled with 24 powerful time-management tips.
Posted by Jan Wencel on Tue, Dec 22, 2009
Our recent interview with Carol Roth prompted a re-run of this email managment tip...
You don't have to be a teenager to use email acronyms. Following are a few uses taken from Wikipedia. Use them to infuse more productivity into your work life...and to surprise those folks who think you're too old to LYAO:
END OF MESSAGE
End Of Message or EOM signifies the end of a message, often an email. The subject of an email contain such an acronym to signify that all content is in the subject line so that the message itself does not need to be opened (e.g., "Monday status meeting canceled (EOM)"). This practice can save the time of the receiver.
NO REPLY NECESSARY
No Reply Necessary or NRN signifies the sender doesn't require (or would prefer not to receive) a response. You can use NRN at the end of your email message or in the subject line. EOM can also be used in conjunction with NRN (e.g., "Confirming Tuesday meeting @ 11am (EOM/NRN)"). This practice can save the time of the receiver & the sender.
ACTION REQUIRED
Action Required or AR signifies the recipient is being asked to take action. (e.g., "Sign up for 8.22 GO System training (AR)," or "ACTION: Sign up for 2.9.10 GO System training"). This practice puts the receiver on the alert.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH
Thank You Very Much or TYVM signifies appreciation. EOM can also be used in conjunction with TYVM (e.g. "Got your report. TYVM/EOM") This practice can save the time of the receiver. The sender & receiver can also come to an agreement to omit thank you emails entirely. Quite a concept, huh?
Start using these acronyms today & watch your email processing time reduce.
P.S. If you send text messages text queries to Google & get their text responses back. Here's how:
- Start a new text message & type in your search query.
- Send the message to the number "466453" (GOOGLE).
- Receive text message(s) with results.
Examples: "thai restaurant 60563"; "score cubs"; "flight aa 2111"; "1 us pint in liters"; "map 900 n michigan avenue, chicago"; "movies 60611"; "weather chicago". More examples here. Be careful to use only when necessary...it can be addictive! |
Posted by Jan Wencel on Thu, Dec 17, 2009
Yesterday Carol Roth featured Life Contained email expertise in her piece Minimizing Unneccessary Email Responses. One of the fresh ideas included in the piece was the concept of including something like this in an email signature:
-------------
In an effort to save our most precious resource, time, I use the following acronyms. Please consider adopting them and sharing them with your friends and colleagues:
NRN (No Response Needed)
ORI (Only Respond if Issue)
NWT (Noted With Thanks)
--------------
Another way to approach it is to program NRN and the like into AutoText so only a few keystrokes will deliver the full statement on an on-demand basis.
Thanks for the mention, Carol!
Posted by Jan Wencel on Thu, Dec 17, 2009
Our clients have been asking, "what should be on our resolution list this year?" We have one simple suggestion: COMPLETELY EMPTY YOUR EMAIL INBOX
For those of you who use your inbox as a storage place...
This may send you into a panic. Do not fret. You can do this.
Start by setting up two appointments: one in the near term & another in six months. In the first appointment delete by age, from the bottom, all the messages you know are extinct and you'll not need to reference. Then sort by author & delete all the messages from people you know you can eliminate. Next rank by file size & delete the emails with large attachments that you no longer need. The last step may seem drastic, but there are great rewards. Create a folder called "Expired Email." Choose a date to draw an imaginary line (I suggest no more than three weeks out), then drag all older emails into the expired folder. Any emails retrieved from the expired folder within six months should be incorporated into other reference folders. All others (no exceptions!) should be deleted during the second appointment you arranged for six months out.
For those who use your inbox as a to-do list...
We suggest you break this habit. Although more effective than allowing 1,000+ emails to pile up, using your inbox to prompt on-time follow up can lead to mishaps & doesn't allow for prioritization.
Start by setting up an appointment to create an action file to hold all the reminders you have. Then add reminders for tasks resulting from emails as well as other tasks you need to complete. (We've found the tried & true tickler file system works better than any electronic method or otherwise. If you don't know how to set one up, give us a call. We'll talk you through it.)
Ah...doesn't the email white space feel peaceful?
Posted by Jan Wencel on Wed, Dec 09, 2009
Although we'd like to say, "Get back to work," we have something more to share. We came across a short animation created by the cartoonist Lev that addresses the procrastinator in all of us. Turn on the volume, and have a good laugh. Then it's BACK TO WORK! Procrastination video here.
Posted by Jan Wencel on Wed, Dec 09, 2009
Do you read and respond to emails as soon as they hit your inbox...especially when you're drafting a letter you don't want to write? Perhaps you get up to get a glass of water to avoid going through the week's mail. Do you think about what outfit we're going to wear Saturday instead of starting a load of laundry?
Guess what? You're just like everybody else: you procrastinate. But you can set yourself apart by discovering your procrastination tells.
Like poker tells, most people have habits, behaviors or physical reactions which predict when they're about to procrastinate. If you can figure out what your signals are, then with thoughtful determination you can minimize your productivity intermissions.
FLAVORS OF DILLY DALLYING
Procrastination typically presents itself in the following varieties. 1. Events that come to you: the phone rings, an email pops in your inbox, someone knocks on your door. 2. Events with outside objects that you create: you get up to get a snack, to find "the best" frying pan you follow a chain of websites until you can't see straight. 3. Internal events: you daydream, you think about trying to remember to pick up toilet paper on your way home.
ENDUCING DEFERRED GRATIFICATION
After you've uncovered your tells, try to change your environment or your routines to lessen the distractions. For example, decide to not answer any outside callers during particular hours of the day. Remind yourself to get back to work when you find yourself thinking about candy bars. Set the timer for 15 minutes and consider the task complete when the buzzer sounds. Carry a notebook to collect extraneous to dos so you can safely tell your brain to focus on what you're supposed to be doing.
You'll be amazed at how you can convert your procrastination habit into one of productivity.
Posted by Jan Wencel on Tue, Dec 08, 2009
A desktop action file positions current files (and control over paper) at your fingertips.
What Belongs in an Action File?
All the papers triggering you to do something today, in the next few weeks, or regularly should live in an Action File. (e.g., make a phone call, enter information into your address book, visit a website, read, research, write an email, review a statement for accuracy, file in long-term filing, enter transactions into the computer.)
What Doesn't Belong in an Action File?
All the papers you're keeping for reference or legal reasons, but do not require action on a near-term or regular basis should be archived or stored in a long-term filing system. (e.g., completed project files, tax-related papers, manuals, insurance policies, best practice articles, performance reviews, maintenance records, birth certificate.)
Steps to Create a Categorical Action File
1. Schedule a few hours to create an Action File.
2. Gather all your loose papers, a scratch pad, and a pen.
3. Take the first piece of paper and ask yourself "What is the next action I need to take to get this piece of paper out of my life?". Write down the answer on the scrap paper and begin a pile of papers labeled with this category heading. Move onto the next paper and repeat. (Most people end up with categories such as recycle, shred, read, write, call, data enter, pay, pending, file, and then special categories to fit their unique situation.)
4. Assess your categories, and condense where possible. Tally the number of categories and evaluate if you can create a file system with your current office supplies, or if you'll need to purchase new ones.
5. Shop for new materials if necessary. (Some of our favorites are this desktop file box and these hanging and file folders.)
6. Install your office products and place the piles of papers into their properly labeled new homes.
7. Add reminders to your calendar. Either specifically call out special tasks with deadlines, or add reminders to go through certain file folders on specified dates to ensure deadlines are not missed.
8. Maintain the system by keeping up with your filing and reminder system, and by removing files you haven't used in a month or more.
9. Bask in the clear space and control you just created.